Fair day at the zoo?

This picture is for Janie- see this is the reason we never have pictures of my mom holding Caroline. Mass CHAOS! Janie has brought it to our attention that we have no pictures of my mom with the baby- therefore she believes that my mom must never hold her!

We did spend our day at the zoo, but I have no good pictures! I guess when you have 5 kids (Tracey & the kids & my mom went with us) it is hard to get it together. I know Tracey posted some pictures.

Kirt's birthday at the Lake

Six Flaggs

We went to Six Flaggs on Saturday evening with Sam & Emerson. As you can see, Caroline was in great hands- she stayed with my parents, and grandparents & my Uncle. The kids had such a good time. We didn't ride a lot of the rides because Emerson was too small but they loved the antique cars and the train ride. It was a really nice relaxing evening- a nice mix up to our everyday chaos!

First Bottle

Caroline got her first bottle today. She did great! Sam was so excited to help!

Cloth diapers???

Here are a few more pictures from the week. The first one has a funny story that goes with it- notice that Caroline has on a cloth diaper. I briefly considered doing cloth diapers in my effort to "go green" and do my part for the environment not to mention the cost benefits. Well, my friend Stephanie gave me this diaper www.thegoodmama.com if you want to check them out. CUTE diapers. I was so excited to try this- I put it on Caroline (note- I did not read the directions of how to put it on- how hard could it be? It is just a few snaps and it is organic fleece lined inside). It never occured to me that it would leak! I sat down to feed her and you can guess that within five minutes I was SOAKED! I did a google search and everyone says that they are the most absorbant so it must be something I did wrong. I may get brave and try it one more time but I'm thinking I will just stick with Pampers and keep filling up the land fills with disposable diapers!

Our crazy week

Sam is really enjoying t-ball- he is so funny because he LOVES to slide into home plate- and if he doesn't get his pants dirty then he gets on his knees and walks on his knees just to make sure he has some dirt on his pants before he gets to the dugout!

Making our home-made pizza before my first outing with ALL 3 kids- Tracey & I took all 5 kids to an outing at church on Thursday night. It went very smoothly- everyone was on perfect behavior! Thank goodness for the double stroller & my baby Bjorn carrier!

Baby Caroline is a month old today! She is starting to smile now. She still has reflux and it seems to be getting a little worse now- but the doctor assured me that this was normal. She is still spitting up and it comes out her nose about once a day- enough that her mommy has to change ALL of my clothes!

Emerson has been great potty training! She just decided she wanted to go on the potty and we haven't turned back since! Granted, I do spend most of my day in the bathroom with her- Caroline & I have found a little red stool that we sit on and wait and wait and wait on Emerson to decide she is done and then when she is done most of the time she decides she has to go again =) Kirt was joking that in the hour he had potty duty last night he was in there 10 times! But all this is so worth it not to have 2 in diapers! We reward Emer with popsciles & reeses pieces! I'm going to gain lots of weight because I grab a handfull of candy for myself when I get them for her!

Caroline is one month old!

I had to take her in to the pedi yesterday for her increasing reflux- she weighed in at 10 pounds 6 oz! I couldn't believe how big she has gotten! Emerson is doing great on potty training- thanks to Aunt Tracey for telling me to give her candy for even trying to sit on the potty- it thankfully just "clicked" and now she has been going on the potty for about 3 days now- we will see how she does at preschool today. Sam is doing great in school. He loves his teacher and is reading his 4th "reader" book now. He is so proud to learn to read!

Lunch with the kindergarteners...

So yesterday Caroline & I went and brought lunch to Sam. They are allowed to have one friend sit with them at the parents table- Sam already had his friend, Abby, sitting with us when Gabriel came over to the table with a big huge smile on his face and sat down- (he sat with us last time so he saw me and just came runnign to claim his seat). I couldn't tell him that they only had one friend at a time at the parents table so I just hoped none of the teachers would say anything. Gabriel is very talkative (probably the reason that he gets along so well with Sam) Here is the conversation:

• Gabriel to Abby: "Sam's mommy is a nurse"
• Sam: "My mommy works with babies"
• Gabriel: "How do babies get out of a mommy's tummy. Do they use scissors?"
• Sam: "No the doctor helps"
• Me: "Gabriel, that would be a good question for your mommy"
• Gabriel: "But my mommy isn't a nurse"

I proceeded to change the subject by getting out the french fries and stuffing them with fast-food.

More pictures

I just can't resist posting pictures of my precious little baby girl! She is so sweet and happy- unless she is in her carseat! She will be 3 weeks tomorrow!

Our lunch date aka "Mass chaos"

So we met our friends- Heather with Halle & Cason, Jen with Lucy Kate, Meredith & Andrew, & Tracey & Brooke & Max out a Chick-fil-a for lunch! What an adventure! All of the kids were pretty well behaved- except for the few minutes when Emerson kept taking her shirt off and when she tried to run off into the Men's restroom! Thank goodness my friends are quick on their feet & didn't mind chasing her since she always ran the opposite direction from me! The kids had such a great time playing and it was so nice to get out in "normal" life again- and as Heather said it was so chaotic I don't think we ever had a complete conversation! Thanks girls! I think I am going to be ready for a girls night out in the next month or so!

pictures of Caroline

Sweet Caroline

Caroline is about 2 1/2 weeks old now. She weighed 9 lbs 1 oz at her 2 week appointment. She is such a good sleeper (I probably just jinxed myself). I just love to sit & hold her and really enjoy her- since she will be our last baby I just want to remember every little moment of this stage. Sam goes to school and Emerson is in preschool 2 days a week. Caroline had a big week- I guess being a third child you have alot more activity earlier...she attended 2 t-ball games, went to Sonic, went to Firewheel Mall today, had lunch with Sam at school, and of course she went to Target with Mommy. We also had such a great visit with my good friend, Tiffany, who went to high school with us. Tiffany was so sweet to go with me and help me pick up Emerson from school- which tends to be chaotic since Emerson loves to run from her mommy. On the days that Emerson is out of school we just stay at home- it is much easier that way. Sam is adjusting great- Emerson on the other hand is keeping us busy. She is learning how to be "gentle" and "love" the baby. I just pray that the baby stays safe and I find an effective discipline to teach Emerson to be sweet to the baby. She means well and always wants to hug & kiss her especially if Sam hold her or Grandma! We are surviving- and enjoying the fact that Sam & Emerson go to bed at 7:30! And we are so thankful for all of the food that The Heights has provided for us- it has been a life saver not having to worry about cooking-

Link

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/livevideo/?nvid=258426&live=yes&shu=1 I have been following the storms- here is a link I found about hurrican Ike-

Fall ball

This is Sam's 2nd season- we are so glad to be playing with our friends Tanner & Hayden!

Brooke loved to hold Caroline- she will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. Notice her cute socks (thanks to Dangela- we were stylin for our first game)

Emerson & Jessie enjoyed their snacks

Thanks to Tracey for coming over to help us get ready- I don't think I could have gotten us all there without a little help!

A few new pictures

So we are finishing out our first week- luckily it was a short week! Peggy came over on Wednsday to watch Caroline so I could bring Emer to school on her first day. My mom came yesterday and spent the day helping out- and then today we ventured over to her house after we dropped Emerson off at school. My mom is so sweet to let us just hang out ALL day and do nothing! Tonite we went to Len & Peggy's house for dinner. We have been so lucky to have dinner made for us this week! We have such great friends and Tracey & Josh's sunday school class has been so sweet to provide dinners since we have recently changed churches.

Caroline found a comfy place to go to sleep on Uncle Joe!

The pool was a little cold but it didn't stop the kids from swimming!

I love this cuddly stage- she can sleep anywhere! Meredith bought us the great light-weight blankets that are perfect for summer babies- especially when your mommy is a nursery nurse who is obsessed with swaddling!

Emerson's first day of preschool

After reading my previous post you can tell that I did not cry when I dropped off my sweet girl at preschool today! Poor little Emerson cried and I had to peel her off of me to drop her off, but her teacher said she stopped crying immediately. She is going to school at the church we attend so she is very familar with the school and Sam & Brooke also went there last year. Her teacher said she was the first one asleep and refused to eat lunch. She will go 2 days a week!

We ventured out in the cool weather in the double stroller! Sam loves to ride his bike and both girls were contained- I think we walked over a mile just because it was so nice outside!

First day at home without Kirt (need I say more?)

Okay so day #1 with Kirt back at work---took Sam to school and then came home to feed the baby. In the 20 minutes I sat to feed Caroline here is a small look at what is keeping Emerson busy...

1. She has pushed the kitchen chair next to the light switch and is turning the light on & off in the kitchen
2. She has gotten a plastic cup and filled it with ice & water from the fridge and has spilled it on her pj's so she proceeds to take off her jammies and her diaper- so the child has NO clothes on
3. She stands on the middle of the kitchen table
4. She comes to investigate and watch intently as Caroline eats- and pats her to "burp" her
5. She is standing on the kitchen counter trying to get a bandaid (I think I just need to get rid of all of the chairs in the kitchen- they seem to be the common denominator in her getting into trouble)
6. She comes and sits on my leg and wants to "ride a little horsey"
7. She tries to put her Wiggles DVD in without opening the DVD player
8. She feeds the dog 15 cups of food- it is now in his water bowl & in his food bowl- Poor Andy looks very confused!

Needless to say that by the time Kirt got home to take Sam to t-ball practice Emerson also had her shoes and bag packed to go to practice too! Today went much better than yesterday- no tears today!

bye bye butterflies!

So Sam decided it was time to let his butterflies go free. This was such a fun thing for the kids. They loved watching the catepillars turn into butterflies! One of those great purchases from Target that you wish you had bought more than one- but of course they are sold out now!